


Love is a burning thing

by sksdwrld



Series: Asterisk [8]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-12
Updated: 2013-12-12
Packaged: 2018-01-04 09:49:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1079517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sksdwrld/pseuds/sksdwrld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elliot meets Eddie in the motel after she breaks the news.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love is a burning thing

Elliot was sitting on the curb in front of his room when the cab pulled up. He could see her shock of white-blonde hair peeking from beneath her black berret.  He took a long pull off of his cigarette before stubbing it violently out.  Slipping it into his pocket as he stood, Elliot approached the cab and pulled the door open.  
   
Eddie was collecting her change from the driver and putting it back into her wallet but she glanced up at Elliot.  Shaking her head as she got out and shut the door, she said, "Jesus, could you have picked a shittier motel?"

Elliot swallowed thickly and shrugged. "My SSI isn't much more than the allowance we got.  I already spent most of what I had on Christmas presents, and train tickets. I wasn't expecting to have to rent a room on top of it. Now, I'm probably going to have to beg a couple of packs of smokes off of Mike to get me through the rest of the month."  
   
She passed him a small smile and curled her arm around his neck, tugging him closer so that she could press a wet kiss against his cheek. "It's ok, baby, I'll buy you a couple of packs before you go. Whaddya say we take this inside though, before we get mugged?" She took him by the elbow and tugged him up onto the curb after her.  
   
"You really think-" Elliot frowned and gestured toward the room he'd gotten only an hour before. It was really a flea-bitten hole, with thin, ugly brown curtains that didn't keep the light out and creaky, strange smelling mattresses with odd-colored blankets.  He had tried not to look too hard at the dim, small bathroom when he used it; tried not to hear Daniel's smug and superior tone in his head, telling him that this sort of thing was exactly what he had tried to protect him from.  
   
"Naw, we'll be alright." Eddie promised, but made sure that each of the three locks was turned before pulling off her coat and dropping it onto the nearer of the two double beds. She was wearing a pair of leggings and a glittery pink sweater, but Elliot didn't think she looked any different than the last time he had seen her. She caught him staring at her and bracketed her hands on her stomach, pulling her sweater taut. "How do I look?"

"The same," Elliot blushed. "I mean, good. You know, pretty. Like usual."  
   
 Eddie smirked rather triumphantly as Elliot shrugged out of his pea coat. "And you look well-fed,"  
   
"Like the fatted calf before the slaughter," Elliot replied, looking away.  
   
"Is that what you think this is?"  
   
"Isn't it?  You told me to come.  I came." Elliot glanced back  
   
"Well, it's only fair.  How many times have you run off to that red-headed bimbo while I was all alone?" Elliot glanced behind herself before perching on the edge of the bed, wincing as the springs creaked noisily.  
   
"You weren't alone, you had Jarron," Elliot thought that was important to point out. He didn't even know if he was the father, and here he was, being the good guy everyone had told him to be.  
   
"Some consolation." Eddie rolled her eyes.

"Apparently he was good enough for awhile." Elliot said, rubbing a bubble on the surface of the dresser with his thumb.

"Don't be an asshole, Elliot. It doesn't suit you."

"You already said I was one," Elliot replied. "On the forum."

"You were ignoring me. I was just trying to get your attention—"

Elliot interrupted her, "That's really messed up, you know that?"

Eddie looked at the wall. "Look, I've said and done some shitty stuff. They cut my meds in half as soon as they found out I was...you know...pregnant. Said it causes tube defects or some shit. They're going to wean me off them completely if I...now that I...decided not to get rid of it."

Elliot sank down onto the bed opposite from her. "Should they do that? Are you going to be able to function?"

"I'll live, if that's what you mean, but it isn't going to be pretty," Eddie shrugged. "Whatever, it isn't about me anymore. Not that I expect you to understand."

"I'm self-absorbed, not self-contained. I am capable of empathy, you know."

"Yes, and how are Jay and Christina doing these days?"

Elliot pulled a face. "Eddie, I'm not going to fight with you. They're my friends, they asked me to come; they didn't play some passive-aggressive game. Last night, you texted me and asked me to meet you. Here I am. What more do you want?"

Eddie sighed and got up, moving onto the mattress beside him and laying her head on hus shoulder. "I want you to love me like I love you."

With a sigh, Elliot put his arm around her waist. But he didn't say anything. He cared about Eddie, but what he felt for her didn't nearly approximate love. On some level, he knew his silence would speak for itself, but Eddie didn't seem too perturbed. 

"Lay down," Eddie said as she pushed him toward the mattress. "Let's just snuggle and forget the world for a bit, like we used to."

Elliot hadn't meant to fall asleep, but he found himself waking up in the darkened room to the sound of the toilet flushing. He dug his phone out of his pocket to check the time and saw that Christina had left him a message on the forum.

 _You're a stupid fuck and I kind of hate you..._ "Oh God..." Elliot gasped as tears sprang to his eyes. He knuckled them away but there were more to replace them. He'd known that Christina was angry with him but he hadn't realized she was that hurt. And now she hated him and he'd probably never see her again which meant he'd never see Jay again. His thumbs flew over the screen and he didn't even know what he was typing because he was having a major disconnect. The bathroom door opened and he didn't look up. He couldn't make himself care about Eddie when Christina hated him. "Oh baby, what's wrong?" Eddie cooed at him and crossed, kneeling on the bed. But Elliot didn't want to be near her, didn't deserve to be comforted. He was a bad person and he had screwed everything up. He shoved his phone at Eddie, knowing she'd see the Christina's post and darted past her, into the bathroom. He locked the door and slid down the wall with his head in his hands.

"Christina, please!" He said to the empty room. "I love you..."


End file.
